Change law only to improve accountability

Mar. 8, 2013

Written by

Free Press Executive Editor

The Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee has voted on changes that make opening the records of criminal investigations more complicated than it needs to be by adding extraneous exemptions, but all in all this bill is a big step forward.

The exploration of requiring more openness started because a majority of the Vermont Supreme Court ruled the language of state law could be interpreted to forbid disclosure of the results of any criminal investigation if police and the attorney general claimed it was in the best interest of Vermonters to do so.

Under the changes, the state would adopt federal guidelines for the release of information involving police investigations. The federal guidelines lean toward openness, but they also provide a sufficient number of ways for courts to keep investigations under wraps until cases are concluded.

Two exemptions sought by Vermont League of Cities and Towns would give police leeway beyond the federal guidelines to withhold information to protect the privacy of certain individuals if they are deemed innocent bystanders, or if information revealed would “facilitate the commission of a crime.” The bystander exemption muddies the law and could prevent adequate disclosure. This exemption is unnecessary. Everyone is innocent, whether a bystander or central character, until a court decides otherwise. The language of the federal law provides protections for law enforcement.

The key in adopting new guidelines is transparency of police behavior — not obfuscation of why police investigated, and most important, how they investigated. The real issue is ensuring final oversight of our state, county and municipal police forces in Vermont, which can be seen at times as having insufficient internal watchdogs.

Oversight can be lacking in this state. The best way to counter the deficit is to establish guidelines with the purpose of either immediate or eventual openness. This is especially imperative with the heavy need for responsibility for fair and diligent investigations that can lead to serious consequence.

The public has a fundamental civic need to understand the way police manage their jobs when probing into people’s lives. The public has a right to know whether police and prosecutors acted appropriately. Greater transparency is imperative to ensure responsible police action in conducting investigations that can lead to serious consequences.

The Legislature needs to keep this essential goal in mind as it sorts through any additional exemptions which are bound to pop up that would permit redaction of information that blocks accountability.